Few freshmen communication majors read newspapers: poll

TAIPEI -- The most common media used by college freshmen majoring in communications is the Internet, with fewer than 3 percent of them regularly reading newspapers, according to the results of a Fo Guang University survey released yesterday.

In a poll of 224 freshmen in communications departments at six universities in northern Taiwan, 70.2 percent of respondents said they most often used the Internet to access media, while 25.1 percent cited television as their most common news source.

Only 2.6 percent choose the paper versions of newspapers as their most common news source, and 1.6 percent cited the radio.

The most common way respondents accessed newspapers were through mobile applications, social media and the media outlet's own portal, the survey found.

Among respondents who read newspapers, the three most popular sections were entertainment, international news, and society, according to the survey.

Asked to choose the best newspaper in Taiwan, 29.8 percent of the students chose the United Daily News, 27.3 percent selected Apple Daily, and 17.4 percent chose the Liberty Times.

Among television news stations, 31.1 percent of the students said Public Television Service was the best, followed by TVBS-News (17.2 percent) and Next TV (10.2 percent).

In the radio station category, Hitoradio was ranked the best by the most number of respondents (20.5 percent), followed by International Community Radio Taipei (17.6 percent) and Radio Taiwan International (11 percent).

The results of the survey were released Monday by the "Lan-Yang News," a newspaper published by Fo Guang University's communications department.

The survey hoped to get an idea of how freshmen in communications departments at six universities used and evaluated media in Taiwan.

No margin of error was given for the poll, which questioned students at Hsuan Chuang University, Tamkang University, Ming Chuan University, Fu Jen Catholic University, Fo Guang University and National Taiwan University of Arts.

The "good news" in the results of this survey is that students are, in fact, still seeking out information, albeit not via the traditional media sources. The "bad news," as I have found in my own Communication classes at #CurryCollege is that fewer and fewer of these students are actively staying current with news and events. If a celebrity's name is attached to the news item (can anyone say "Kim Kardashian?), there is a somewhat better chance, but not so with "regular" breaking/important news. I'm concerned both as a public relations professional and as a professor of public relations when I see these trends.